The pension indexation starting March 1, and which will be further held automatically, monetization of subsidies for payment of housing and communal services, as well as the comprehensive support for the families, responsible parenting and fertility should become the core objectives for the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine in 2019. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during a meeting of the board of the Ministry of Social Policy. The attendees analyzed the main achievements in the social sphere in 2018 and identified the prospects for development.

The PM thanked the social sphere workers and highly praised their work. "People apply to social services when they need help. Thus, our task is to build a high-quality public dialogue so that people understand that their needs will be addressed. Your are doing important and we really appreciate it", Volodymyr Groysman said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that one of the Government’s priorities in 2019 is the development of human capital. In this regard, every ministry has its own spectrum of tasks focusing  directly on key tasks as social protection, education and medicine.

"The task facing us is not only to ensure the economic growth, but also to reinvest economic achievements in the quality of human life. Now the key objective is to ensure the first automatic indexation of pensions in accordance with the law approved in October 2017. Everything needs to be done in a timely and qualitative way and people should have a clear understanding... Next step is monetization of subsidies. The task is to protect and give targeted assistance to people who are not able to pay the full price for heat and water", Volodymyr Groysman underscored.

The Prime Minister again drew attention to the need for an individual approach when considering each appeal to social services, primarily for receiving subsidies. "People stay in different environment. And not every case can be regulated by the Government's resolutions. And here the work of special commissions (within social protection bodies) comes to the fore", said Volodymyr Groysman, adding that local governments that form tariffs for communal services should work together with social workers.

In his statement Volodymyr Groysman also touched on the issues of providing other social services - primarily housing, sanatorium therapy, services for people with disabilities.

"A separate issue is the support for orphans. Imagine when a person is alone, has been grown up in an orphanage, starts adult life, and has no place to live. And the fact that last year there were bought 829 apartments and transferred to young people is a good step towards providing basic needs", said Volodymyr Groysman.

According to him, the issue of supporting children and families with children, as well as promoting the rise in births should become another priority in the work of the Ministry of Social Policy. For this purpose, a number of programs have already been introduced - "Baby Box", "Municipal Nanny", kindergartens are being built. All this should work in the future and become a good tradition of the Ukrainian society, assures the Head of Government.